Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. Looks like the good folks at Film School Rejects got their grubby little mitts on the next trailer for Frank Miller's adaptation of Will Eisner's THE SPIRIT.
Both trailers have gotten me interested, not really in a Holy Shit, that looks Awesome! way, but I dig the vibe of them. That said, I can completely see how fans of Eisner's would be pissed off and how even non-fans could be turned off by the over-stylization. But when else would you see Sam Jackson sporting both a crazy chop sockey samurai outfit and a Nazi uniform in the same trailer?
UPDATE!
You can still click over to Film School Rejects, but it looks like Lionsgate has pulled the trailer. I'm sure we'll see it relaunched in an official capacity around Comic-Con, but congrats to those who got to check it out before it was pulled!CLICK ON OVER TO CHECK IT OUT!

I don't know what to make of it. The actresses were barely recognizable and alot of it just seemed absurd. Usually it takes a director a looong time to be given free reign over a movie and do shit that seems only would appeal to his own sensibilities. So I don't know how Frank Miller got to do all this shit in his movie, considering he's only co directed one movie, Sin City, and it looks like that style is all he knows how to do now. I can only hope I'd be pleasantly surprised by this.

I think it was insane, which is kind of refreshing. Frank Miller has obviously reached a deal where he can do whatever the hell he wants. It may not all be to my sensibilities, but It's like Bill Hicks, don't have to agree, but you still gotta be impressed at that fuck you attitude to the whole world. I will watch this with popcorn and anticipate screaming, "No Way!" at least once in the movie, then I'll have gotten my moneys worth.

I find it really, really strange that Miller has been at the forefront of screaming "creator's rights" for years in the comic book industry and yet is taking its only universally revered property and putting it through a cinematic meat grinder set on his own "Sin City". His intentions may be good, but nobody can ever convince me that this is something Eisner would have approved of. On the mildly humorous side though this will probably entice whoever owns the Sam Jones Spirit TV-movie from the 80's to release it on DVD which should be good for a laugh..

I don't get the concept I thought he came back from the dead to be a detective or something? This trailer just makes it seem like a stylized porn.
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I do dig the visuals, not as much as Sin City though, they feel a bit forced here, but the trailer just seems a bit awkward, also Sam Jackson is just ridiculously out of place here.
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While I like things that are visually unique, this almost looks like someone took a creative diarrhea all over the screen, it's just.....everywhere. Probably won't end up being a good thing.
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While I'm not sold on it, it is definitely much more promising and at least unique than 90% of the other generic bullshit being pumped into theatres.

Looks nothing like any version of The Spirit I've ever seen. Why couldnt we have gotten an animated Direct to DVD version based on Darwyn Cookes artwork? I think Sin City broke Frank Millers brain...everything he writes now sounds the same. Expect the Spirit to refer to himself as The Goddamn Spirit and expect Sam Jackson to say MotherFucker a lot....and I mean A LOT!!!!

I have no idea if that was utter genius or complete shit. Scarlet is certainly mind-bendingly hot with glasses. I actually really liked all the parts with Sam Jackson. They were so over-the-top, but still cool. I imagine this is going to be the first true live action comic book. The way the background shifts when Octopus pulls his sword out, Octopus firing the giant guns, the convenient framing to prevent nudity, and especially the outfits. My main problem is that Denny Colt became a whore in the translation from page to screen. I don't know if Miller has the chops to make that aspect work.

in a Kill Bill on meth sort of way, or a drunk while watching "Trainspotting" way. Anyone know what that music is BTW? And sorry to revert back to 300, but I still think the initial trailer for 300 was one of the best trailers ever. Made me ready to kick Persian ass

frank iller is so obsessed with nazi imagery he will a black man in an ss uniform. what a goddamned freak. looks interesting though, like it could be faithful to the source in some key ways, but a whole new f'd up direction in most others, poor selection of clips im guessing. id like to see a more action/heroics oriented trailer...

that Will Eisner's name appears in the trailer. I really don't see any Eisner here. This is Frank Miller's The Spirit, make no mistake. I suppose if this movie wasn't based on Eisner's The Spirit, I'd most likely cut it some slack, but that ain't happening.
So, is the Octopus going to live at the end and rip off his mask off-screen, so despite seeing Jackson's face for the whole film, we won't really have seen the Octopus' face?
I also don't think the actress who plays Ellen Dolan is hot enough.

As in, bad-ass. Well, if you are tripped out on opiates at least.
Anyhow, let's watch in awe as all the talkbackers become Will Eisner experts and start whining about staying true to the spirit of the Spirit.
The comic was mostly light and charming, and often straight goofy. Let's see if Miller can do 'charming'.
Loved the three-year-old eurotrash pop music too.

That look horrible!<br><br>
I'm not a big fan of Millers, but I was willing to give this one a chance, till I saw that piece of shit trailer. Now, maybe it was just cut wrong or something, but if that's indication of the rest of the movie, it's going to suck and suck bad!

This doesnt feel like the spirit should feel, this feels like frank miller's bastardized version of the spirit. some of it has the right vibe, but the stuff with jackson looks stupid as hell. the chicks look hot as hell...but it doesnt take talent to make hot chicks look hot. Is it just me or has jackson kind of become a parody? i cant take him seriously in anything anymore, the very sight of him is so damn distracting.

Nobody gives a flying fuck about THE SPIRIT, Frank. Lay off the coke and hookers, and give Rodriquez a call. You know, the guy who made you a household name? Who enabled you to be in the position you are in now? Yeah, him. Thanks, Frank.

The Spirit's mask looks stupid. You're not supposed to see The Octopus's face. They slapped some whiny alterna music on it. This isn't The Spirit. This is Frank Miller biding his time til Sin City 2 comes along and putting his style somewhere it doesn't belong. You wouldn't exist without Eisner, don't forget that, and don't pretend you can improve him by just making it all tits and cynicism.

I wasn't expecting much from this to begin with, but that was especially bad. I'm not kidding when I say I hope this bombs so that Gabriel Macht can stay under-the-radar enough to be cast as Captain America without cries of "but he's already The Spirit!" He was SO cast as the wrong comic book hero.

But why call it The Spirit? It seems like Miller just wanted an old fashioned Superhero with lots of women in his life and a crazy as fuck villain. He could have written that himself. I suppose Spirit In Name Only comes to mind...

i am also not sold on this one and the first trailer struck me as sorta ridiculous but this one actually piqued my interest. i like the femme-angle. it seems kinda interesting. of course, looks can be deceiving. i thought 300 was gonna be the shit but it turned out to suck. yea, i said it.

Because nobody outside of comic geekdom knows who he is and nobody cares. Of course, that being the case, NOBODY is going to see this. You thought SPEED RACER bombed? This is going to make SPEED RACER look like STAR WARS did in 1977. (Btw, I'm not bagging SPEED RACER, I actually loved the movie, but it did bomb really bad.) This may very well end Miller's Hollywood career before it really even gets going. Too bad, Frank. I told you what too much cocaine does to ones decision making faculties didn't I?

Seriously, I've been all positive about this flick so far, but that was possibly the worst fucking trailer I've ever seen in my life. Is he trying to lower our expectations? Is he making a comic book version of a fucking Depeche Mode video? Is he that desperate to prove how much he really hates comic book fans? What is it? AND WHY THE FUCK IS THE OCTOPUS IN A FUCKING NAZI SUIT?!?!?!? Aside from the fact that has fuck all to do with the character, I'm not sure it's occurred to Frank Miller, but Sam Jackson IS BLACK! WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?

am I the only one happy for them to get a huge scoop? they're cool dudes.<p>if you read this, dudes, well played. hope to see more of you to come. next stop? make a wikipedia page for yourselves....get a friend to make it!

Glad to be of service.
Hybrid has had me hooked since their first album debuted in 2000. All their artist albums are definitely worth checking out (and their live show isn't half bad either if they're ever in your neck of the woods).
Cheers!

This seriously looks like crap. While I did like Sin City AS Sin City, I don't like to see Sin City style dumped onto someone elses ideas that don't fit at all. This trailer not only did not draw me to the movie, it pushed me away that much more. I think the people who are going to bother to wait for DVD, shouldn't have too much of a wait.

that didnt look like it at all - that looked very hip, modern and abstract - and i didnt care for the modern pop song that accompanied it - wheres the jazzy film noirish score that i hear in my head while reading spirit comics - this may turn out to be good, but it sure as hell aint what i expected - interesting that when someone makes a movie based on a miller comic it looks just like the comic down to each panel - but here miller makes a movie based on eisner's signature work and it doesnt look anything like classic spirit - maybe i just need to see more of it

Seriously. Has anyone read that Batman movie script he wrote? All I can say is THANK GOD FOR NOLAN! Oh, and he also said The Spirit would be in color and not black & white. If so, why is everything desaturated as fuck? I remember the Spirit having amazing coloring like Dick Tracy. WTF happened?

Style wise anyway...
That trailer definitely suffered from crap music (whereas sin city's trailer kicked ass because of The Servant 'Cells' riff).
It doesnt look that bad, all you fuckwits on here agree with everything you read. Get your own opinions for once.

I have my opinion and it goes like this:
This trailer sucks and you should go back to playing your tinker toys because I plan to have another round in the sack with your Mom.
How is that for an opinion? :D

with the coke reference. thats exactly what i was picturing. franks gone totally hollywood and is in that state of self obsessed self absorbed delusion that only my dear friend cocaine can provide. this totally looks like the product of coke crazed creativity , all flash and cool, with the creator convinced that it is pure spun gold, even when it may be dreck. i still think it looks thoroughly interesting however. but yes i am pissed it is nearly unrecognizable as will eisner's spirit. frank when and did what i was always tring to assure othe rgeeks he wouldnt from the day he was attached to the project. i should have ditched those sentiments long ago though when that frank-draen teaser poster came out and it was pretty much dwight mccarthy with a fedora and domino mask. id stay away from cons for the next few years if i were him. some folks'll be after his blood.

written before i read the rest...what set the spirit comic strips apart from the rest were that they were noirish and cinematic...the storylines were almost always about normal people...there were times when the spirit didnt show up at all...sin city was a comic book take on noir, the movie was noir on roids...but this seems very claustrophobic....denny colt wasnt a ladies man, he basically fell apart at the thought of cleavage...he was like the teens who read the strip...this is way over the top, and not in a good way...and i dont see the humor (which was very important in the original strips) as for the fact that no one outside of geekdom knows about the spirit...that is the whole point....you gotta make the fan boys happy...think anyone outside of the geeks knows anything about watchmen? they dont, but its the fanboys causing the buzz...and if the trailer sux, zach and the world are gonna hear about it....frank, i really am dissapointed in you...hollywood got into your head...so sad....hope at least you got some decent bj's

The trend in AICN talkbacks during the pre-release trailer stage of a film is to talk each other into anticipating and being interested in the film. TBers don't start the verbal ladder match to see who can best pick apart and disown the film which was "best EVAR" by consensus, maybe mere weeks ago, until the movie has actually been released. <p> That being said, this Spirit is an (That's right IS, not IS GOING TO BE) UTTER piece of shit. However, I eagerly await its release on DVD because there will be all kinds of drinking games built around this movie. On top of that I'm positive we can count on it for horrible dialogue. There will be guides created outlining the types of controlled substances suggested to trip on in preparation to watch The Spirit when this movie comes out on DVD. This is going to be a shitty cult movie of epic proportions. And hopefully it will bar Frank Miller from writing or directing a property that is not his ad infinitum.

Saw the first trailer ahead of The Hulk and thought 'WTF?', and this ain't changing that impression.
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The whole shit & kaboodle just looks like Frank attempting to port over the visual style of Sin City jux'd with (loose interpretations of) Eisner's characters.
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Or, to put it another way, the visual equivalent of comic book madlibs having an extacy-fueled anal fisting orgy that takes place (and only makes sense) in Frank Miller's head.
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Yes.

youre right - keep the fans happy - favreau did it with iron man - and it paid off big time - del toro did it with hellboy - nolan with batman - snyder with 300 - maybe this is the studio's doing and not miller's - maybe he was pressured into making a "sin city"-looking movie

but, from what I've read about the character and knowing Frank Miller's later period work, it's obvious that The Octopus will be revealed to be Ebony White returned for revenge on his former hero/partner. (See: The Dark Knight Strikes Again). Perhaps the real, unseen, Octopus will be alluded to/shown at the end of the film. Just a theory. Aside from the hot chicks, that trailer looks like garbage.

And not in a good, funny way. Looks like a mix between Sin City and the last 30+ James Bond-Intros with all those shadows of girls and stuff. But unlike Sin City (or Bond) no cool heroes around here, just Gabriel Macht who looks like just another pussy within a bunch of pussies. And Jackson..oh man, he blows hard this times. At least they gave him some strange outfits to show off.

Maybe it was all of the hot babes and my pleasure over seeing The Spirit's face, but it wasn't a terrible preview. It just wasn't Will Eisner's Spirit.<p>It almost looked like some sort of German Expressionist version of The Spirit, with all of its wacky, dream-like sequences and the crazy Samuel L. Jackson shots interspersed throughout.<p>I DO like the smoky "Sky Captain" look of it, but I have a strong feeling this film's gonna bomb, because fans of Eisner's will feel insulted and the general public simply won't "get it."

Frank Miller is just like George Lucas now, hew has gotten ahold of a new toy and doesn't know how to put it down even when it gets in the way of the story, premise or ideas. This just looks bad, sad that we have waited at least 60 years for this and what we get is one man's masturbatory fantasy about all the women he fanatsized about when he was a young boy. YEAH, Frank, I thought they were pretty hot too when I was twelve, but I wouldn't have let that get in the way of what the Spirit was really about if I were given the reigns to this movie. The saddest part is that after 300 and Sin City Miller is starting to look like a one-trick pony...

get the mask so wrong? Tell me this footage is before the special effects people fix the mask.<p>And I know Miller is going to try to do with this what he's done with Batman) and considering how heavily both Burton's and Nolan's Batman borrowed from his work, who can blame him?) but Samuel L. Jackson's interpretation of Ebony White is WAY off base.<p>Seriously, that opening credit that lists Miller's fucking resume before Will Eisner's name ought to say in huge fucking letters "From the writer of Robocop 2 and 3". Now that would be truth in advertising.<p>Y'know, it's fun to play David and bash a goliath, but I really liked Miller's two runs on Daredevil, Dark Knight Returns, :Year One, Ronin and Elektra: Assassin. That's why it's sad to see what he's turned into.<p>Maybe he should take a few years off from writing and just crank out a couple comic book covers a month for a while - and try not to use any swastikas or ninjas.

looks different than anything out there right now. i guess anything that can't be summed up in a one sentence log-line by script girl isn't suitable for you quotidian fucks.
i'll see it. regardless of reviews.

Cool, if you see it, you will enjoy a spacious theater. Most people who are upset are SPIRIT fans. Just because you like pizza, doesn't mean you like shit toppings on it correct? So please, if you can enjoy Frank Miller's last movie, please do. No hard feelings, but to some of us, this is such a bastardization of one of comics seminal works that it just makes us sick. You good with that? I'll even buy your popcorn. Cheers!

Where was the oversight on this? No one had the balls to go up to Frank Miller and say "Hey, I know people think your great but you got Samuel L. Jackson wearing Mascara and power gloves." Even the Spirit's mask looks stupid. And yeah, it has some hot actresses, but still, not enough of a reason to wade through this river of shit.

So, you're all saying that....if Miller had set this in the late '40's - early 50's, kept all of the mores of the time intact - Ebony, the wise old police Commissioner, all of the female sexuality bottled up and restrained, nothing but Duke Ellington and Judy Garland on the soundtrack - basically a stone re-shoot of a dozen standard Bogart/Powell/Massey/Cotton Film Noir movies, that THEN you'd be standing in your seats, giving Miller a big ol' Hurrah?
What a buncha cocksuckin' liars.

I also liked Speedracer. I'm thinking this is going to be a niche movie, with a small group who really likes it and the rest, not so much.<br><br>Although the guy just doesn't look like the Spirit to me. Seems like there would be much better actors to play the Spirit, who match the physicality.

Miller is a fucking HACK. Writes the worst dialogue and shallowest characters this side of a 'Blondie' comic strip. Bullshit fetishization with everyone speaking like Mickey Spillane rejects. And I'm going to say this: Sin City was fucking boring. Really fucking boring. 'That Yellow Bastard' made no fucking sense, 'The Big Fat Kill' was pointless-- they should have just made Marv's story a whole movie, it was the only decent one.<p>Frank Miller hasn't produced decent work in 20 years. Stop lionizing this coked-out piece of shit, please.

Well sometimes you really have to try things before you know how bad or good you are at them. At the same time, I wouldn't spend millions of other people's dollars and utilize another comic book writer's work, finding out.

Frank Miller was a great comic book writer, but wow, when it comes to movies he's a complete shitbomb. Somewhere there's a movie studio exectuive looking at the dailies for this and wondering what the hell convinced him to give his money to the turd who wrote ROBOCOP 2.

I didn't think it was as bad as some would make it seem. I liked the first half of the trailer where they set him up as this cavalier hopeless romantic by bordering him with the beautiful women in his life... Then the trailer turned into fucking Samuel Jackson as Master Of Disguise trying to spout what I guess was supposed to be swaggering lines... I definitely want to see more. Just what Frank Miller does with the ladies would be worth it. The Spirit didn't look bad either.

This trailer was cut very bad. It's totally incoherent, with flashes of images that seem to go no where. It gives you no idea of what the plot is, who are the good guys, who are the bad guys. I didn't count, but how long was the Spirit actually on screen (compared to the women - not that I'm complaining) but maybe that's the angle they want to go. Which would be stupid. Also, Sam Jackson. Now, I like the guy, but man does he seem kind of out of place, or is it just me?<br><br>
Overall, this is the worst trailer I've seen in years!<br><br>
I don't know who Frank is making this movie for, but not everyone knows or cares about The Spirit. this trailer had the opportunity to introduce me, and it fail hard. he should learn, from the people who cut the first HellBoy(first Movie) trailer. I've never heard of Hellboy in my life, but the trailer sold me.<br><br>
Is that good enough ArcadianDS?

Why do I feel like I just watched someone's bad acid trip? I'm not going to debate how close to the actual "Spirit" it is because I don't know that much about the property all I know is that was freaking wierd and frankly did not leave me with any desire to see this, and Frank Miller passed his prime about 10 years ago.

...and given the fanboy plotzing over the obscenely overrated film version of _300_ -- said it once, i'll say it again: a film that looks as though it's taking place within andres serrano's "piss christ" -- i'm amazed at the negative reaction you all have towards this trailer and what we can glean as the millerization of eisner's legendary dapper creature of the night. amazed, and more than a little relieved. frank, if 90% of aicn talkbackers are horrified by your, uh, updating of mr. colt's adventures, i think you really have to ask yourself if you've pushed your luck off a chiariscuro deco skyscraper here. Half-Baked-Goggle-Box-Do-Gooder, you actually raise a good point in re: ebony, whose racist caricature should be consigned to the dustbin of history, but mostly i would answer "yes" to your supposedly ironic question. you watch _mad men_? it's fascinating BECAUSE it's a buttoned-up corset bursting at the seams. more of a 40's flavor might have given the film some gravity. now, of course, i haven't seen this yet, but just remembering those issues of _daredevil_ in the 80's when miller was first flexing, those 50-foot high ceilings, endless venetian-blind shadows, &c. miller pretty much owes eisner his scope and his foundational perspective as an artist. we'll see how this turns out, but i guess if we really kill the ones we love, it seems as though our boy frank is very much in love...

There is no way in hell I will see that. Possibly the worst trailer I have seen in a long, long time. I would rather sit through the Space Chimps trailer about 100 times with my eyes propped open with toothpicks than see the Spirit trailer one more time.

Bring Back Sam J. Jones. Most everyone who cares to knows the Spirit is Denny Colt. He's not mysterious. He's not cool. The Spirit is a tough guy, not a hard guy. He doesn't whisper all the time. He's kinda lightweight until the fight starts, in spite of the seriousness of his work. And he's not really all that bright.
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I guess Miller just didn't care about those qualities. Very sad for Eisner's memory.

movie ADAPTATIONS of books or comic books should be identical to the source material.
yup.
wrong.
some of the great movie adaptations have adjusted and altered their source material beyond recognition. wizard of oz. vertigo. the shining.
sometimes filmmakers have to because, you see redbox, they work in a different medium than the authors were working in.
why not go on the dark knight boards and complain about every marginal and not-so-marginal change that nolan and co. have instituted?
get real. not everything is going to be the way you pictured it in your head when you were a little boy.

..Really. Why don't any of you bitchy little crybabies answer my question? Is it because you'll fucking LOSE? "WAHHHH!! WWAAAHHHHHH!!!" "The Spirit's not EXACTLY the way that I, in my infinite wisdom, assume that Will Eisner would have done it himself - that is, would have done it himself if I had stopped jerking off to "The Matrix" long enough to actually BUY any of his stuff while he was still alive and thereby build up some clout for Will, all in order to "Preserve His Artistic Vision". But you didn't do that, did you? If Eisner or Miller HAD done it EXACTLY YOUR WAY - Which would not necessarily be Eisner's way, remember that, assholes - then "The Spirit" would be unbelievably naive, corny, behind-the-times and reminiscent of a style of film making that the majority of you ridicule as hopelessly unhip and NONE OF YOU EVER FUCKING WATCH. So, you all ignored it until one last
superstar guy like Frank Miller decided to work with what he could, and THEN you all come flapping in and screeching that Miller owes YOU an apology. Fucking Cunts. I mean, REALLY. You scum DESERVE Keanu.

First off, chill the fuck off.
Second, yes we would still watch it. Because the Spirit is unlike anything we have seen today. Like people said, this version looks like Tarentino(SP?) ripping off Sin City. Big deal.
When was the last time we have seen a serious, colorful noir story that had good humor? Right, none. They do not make those anymore ever since Blockbuster Sequels and Book adaption became the norm.
Also, about changes, the reason why Nolan can change certain aspects about Batman is because not only does the stuff he change does not change the fundamental nature of the character, but that he gets so much right that any changes he makes are minor. Batman is still the hard boiled wrath that stalks criminals in the night with gadgets dressed as a bat. This, however, is NOTHING like the core or tone of The Spirit.
In short, fuck off wanker!

Seriously. You're like an ostrich with it's head in the sand, but in this case it's more like up Frank Miller's ass making smoochy sounds.
This movie does NOT look like anything new. It all looks like stuff we've all seen before- only done not as well.
Personally, I don't care what Miller does to the Spirit franchise as I've never read it but if it's anything like what this crappy trailer indicates, I think I'll stay away from it.
From this trailer-
This looks like a lame movie.
This looks like stuff we've already seen before only done with less interesting characters.
This does not look like it's worth $9 of my money.
And ultimately- I won't be going to see it.
(Not coming from a blind or angry Spirit fan but from someone who actually pays attention and can decide for himself.)

......When did I bitch about Nolan or Batman? What the FUCK are you talking about? You didn't address one thing in my post, but that doesn't mean you and I are on opposite sides. I'm talking about the swine that did nothing to help Eisner while he was still around (and still don't), but now suddenly they're the Curators of His Legacy - as long as they also get to jump on the Bash Frank Miller Bandwagon, that is....

I don't give a rat's ass about Frank Miller - he doesn't need MY help, that's for sure - I'm just pissed at the Eisner-ignorant dipshits that only know his name from his legend and "The Spirit" from the Darwyn Cooke reboot, but think it makes themselves look cool and knowledgable to get all huffy about Miller's interpretation of Denny Colt's world.
If you aren't artificially outraged at the liberties Miller's taking with "The Spirit", then you're not anyone I was bitching about. As for the actual look of the trailer itself.....I'm also kinda sick of the spoiled brats that bellyache "Ooooooohh - I've SEEN something like this somewhere before. Oh, Horrors. You BORE Me. Excuse me while I sit on my ass and demand that you, Mr Director, cater to MY jaded appetites. Lucretia, Fetch me a Grape.."

Geez, hundreds of movies a year that made with cookie cutters, but anything different gets crapped on. Look at the outrage against Speed Racer, which was a great movie. Just different, and that scared and confused most everybody.<p>
The Spirit very well might be a crappy movie; in fact, it probably will. It's the first damn thing Miller ever filmed. But I know I'm going to enjoy it immensely, anyway, because it is at least _interesting_. How many movies are actually interesting?

I know nothing about the source material, but strictly from a movie fan's point of view, this looks fresh, original, and unlike 99.9% of the movies from the last decade. . . Besides, Sin City and 300, I know of nothing else that approaches this. After all, it can't be any worse than KOTCS

1) Sorry for bitching at ya, I some how got you confused for baghead.
2) I liked the Matrix films.
3) I read the original stuff when he was alive, along with old favorites like Dick Tracy and Tin-Tin. So I like to think I know what I am talking about on this issue.

I am a great Frank Miller fan when he does good material. I've been reading him since his first run on Daredevil and applauded his successes while I sighed at his missteps and groaned at his failures. I still buy most of what he produces (not the goddamn Batman, though). I thought the "Sin City" movie was deeply flawed but an entertaining curiosity through much of its length. I didn't think "Robocop 2" was nearly so awful as many say. Once again, I am a Frank Miller fan.
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I'm far too young to have read "The Spirit" in the originals. I first saw Denny Colt in the Kitchen Sink reprints of the early '80s, then the Eclipse reprints. I was never a regular reader. The book/strip wasn't always to my liking, which is understandable. It changed a great deal over the years as Eisner's view of comics evolved and as Eisner used, then discarded, ghosts and assistants who wrote in styles different from Eisner's. But "The Spirit" always had a tone. That tone was rather sentimental whether the Spirit's adventure was light, serious, downright dark or nonexistent as another character commandeered the story. Eisner was a romantic. He believed love could sometimes overcome tough circumstances or that it should at least try, dammit. He believed that family and friends were the core of life. He believed that sometimes the good guys lose, but in the process they do not act like the bad guys.
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Miller, in his "Sin City," "Daredevil" and "Dark Knight" comics, has demonstrated at best a partial embrace of these ideals. The young man from Vermont who was mugged not long after he arrived in NYC has moved from a belief that vigilantism sometimes leads to justice to an apparent belief that there is no justice, merely payback.
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Visually, Miller stole half his early shtick from Eisner, particularly his use of chiaroscuro. But Miller's sharp, hard cuts and slashing layouts bear little resemblance to the more traditional (even in his late work) storytelling of Eisner. In Eisner, a man jumping across rooftops is hurtling through space a second away from disaster. In Miller, the same figure would almost glide, a Nureyev high jump or a stylized Chinese martial-arts fighter.
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Eisner is heightened realism with comic tones. Miller is a cutting, limited version of realism where quips have come to substitute for genuine humor. Miller seems to have overlaid his style and tone on the basics of Eisner's creation. While that may be called "The Spirit," it's Schumacher time so far as the property is concerned.
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Perhaps it's hot air, but that's my POV.

ooo! dennismm, it hurts and it's funny, both because it's true! way to boil this crap down to it's eseence. (the rest was not hot air, either -- a nice, grounding precis of miller's career)
miller also seems to be way too enamored of the post-noir, solipsistic loner voiceover as narrative motor iin just about everything he's done from comics to film -- "my city is in danger!" yes, it certainly would appear to be, denny...notably from a revisionist one-trick pony whose sole reverence for the source material he's adapting appears to be its lighting effects...ok, that and zaftig wimmins...

For God's sake...keep Miller AWAY from his copy of Final Draft or a camera...geez. That just looks like pure crap. CGI CGI CGI. Figures. The ONLY saving grace will be David Newman's score, which should be wonderful.